Flexible protection sleeve for container

ABSTRACT

A flexible protection sleeve for a container includes a bottom portion, a side portion, and a top portion integrally formed from a same flexible material. The bottom portion and the side portion are configured to wrap around an outer surface of the container, and the top portion is configured to wrap around a top rim of the container, from the outer surface to an inner surface of the container.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/211,521, filed on Jun. 16, 2021. The entire content of the above-mentioned application is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to the technology field of containers and, more particularly, to a flexible protection sleeve for a container.

BACKGROUND

Containers such as tableware are common household items people use in their daily life for storing or serving food. Sometimes containers are made of fragile materials, such as porcelain or glass. Sometimes fragile food containers are used for young children, such as those who are in the age of learning to feed themselves. Sometimes fragile food containers are used by the elderly. The young children and the elderly, or a normal adult, may accidentally knock the container from the table or drop it to the floor, causing damage to the container.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In accordance with an aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a flexible protection sleeve for a container. The flexible protection sleeve includes a bottom portion, a side portion, and a top portion integrally formed from a same flexible material. The bottom portion and the side portion are configured to wrap around an outer surface of the container, and the top portion is configured to wrap around a top rim of the container, from the outer surface to an inner surface of the container.

Other aspects of the present disclosure can be understood by those skilled in the art in light of the description, the claims, and the drawings of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following drawings are provided for illustrative purposes according to various disclosed embodiments and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a perspective view of a container mounted with a flexible protection sleeve, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a cross-sectional view of the container mounted with the flexible protection sleeve, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a cross-sectional view of the container mounted with the flexible protection sleeve including an insert, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of an inner surface of an inner portion of a top portion of the flexible protection sleeve, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of a container mounted with a flexible protection sleeve having a suction base, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a container having a different shape mounted with a flexible protection sleeve, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of a container having another different shape mounted with a flexible protection sleeve, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a top view of a container mounted with a flexible protection sleeve, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a perspective view of a container mounted with a flexible protection sleeve, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Technical solutions of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings, in which the same numbers refer to the same or similar elements unless otherwise specified. A person having ordinary skills in the art would appreciate that the described embodiments represent some, rather than all, of the embodiments of the present disclosure. A person having ordinary skills in the art can conceive or derive other embodiments or variations based on the described embodiments. Such embodiments also fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

Further, in the present disclosure, the disclosed embodiments and the features of the disclosed embodiments may be combined. The described embodiments are some but not all of the embodiments of the present disclosure. Based on the disclosed embodiments, persons of ordinary skill in the art may derive other embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. For example, modifications, adaptations, substitutions, additions, or other variations may be made based on the disclosed embodiments. Such variations of the disclosed embodiments are still within the scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the present disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Instead, the scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.

As used herein, when a first component (or unit, element, member, part, piece) is referred to as “coupled” to or with a second component, it is intended that the first component may be directly or indirectly, permanently or removably, coupled, mounted, fixed, connected, or secured to or with the second component.

When a first component is referred to as “disposed,” “located,” or “provided” at a second component, the first component may be partially or entirely, directly or indirectly, disposed, located, or provided in, inside, within, on, below, or above the second component. The first component may be disposed, located, or provided at any suitable orientation (back, front, to the left, to the right, above, or below) relative to the second component.

The singular forms of “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context indicates otherwise. The terms “comprise,” “comprising,” “include,” and the like specify the presence of stated features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, and do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups.

The phrase “at least one of A or B” may encompass all combinations of A and B, such as A only, B only, or A and B. Likewise, the phrase “at least one of A, B, or C” may encompass all combinations of A, B, and C, such as A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C. The phrase “A and/or B” has a meaning similar to that of the phrase “at least one of A or B.” For example, the phrase “A and/or B” may encompass all combinations of A and B, such as A only, B only, or A and B. Likewise, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” has a meaning similar to that of the phrase “at least one of A, B, or C.” For example, the phrase “A, B, and/or C” may encompass all combinations of A, B, and C, such as A only, B only, C only, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C.

Further, when an embodiment illustrated in a drawing shows a single element, it is understood that the embodiment may include a plurality of such elements. Likewise, when an embodiment illustrated in a drawing shows a plurality of such elements, it is understood that the embodiment may include one such element. The number of elements illustrated in the drawing is for illustration purposes only, and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiment. Moreover, the embodiments and/or features included in various embodiments shown in the drawings are not mutually exclusive, and they may be combined in any suitable manner. For example, elements shown in only one embodiment (or figure) may nevertheless be included in the other embodiments (or figures).

The present disclosure provides a flexible protection sleeve that can be mounted to an exterior of a container, such as a food container. Examples of the container may include tableware, such as tableware made of a fragile material including porcelain or glass. The flexible protection sleeve may protect the container from being damaged when dropped to a floor, knocked onto a wall or furniture, a kitchen counter, etc.

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a perspective view of a container 110 mounted with a flexible protection sleeve 120, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a side view of the container 110 mounted with the flexible protection sleeve 120, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The container 110 may be a food container. A plate is shown as an example of the container 110. The container 110 may include a base and a wall defining a space for containing food or other items. The container 110 may be made of any suitable material. In some embodiments, the container 110 may be made of a fragile material, such as glass or porcelain. To protect the container 110 from damage or scratch, the flexible protection sleeve 120 may be mounted onto the exterior surface of the container 110, including the base of the container 110. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the flexible protection sleeve 120 may include a top portion 121, a side portion 122, and a bottom portion 123, which are integrally formed as a single piece. That is, the top portion 121, the side portion 122, and the bottom portion 123 are not different pieces that are glued together. The top portion 121 may include an inner portion 125 (which may also be referred to as a hook) and an outer portion 126, as shown in FIG. 2 . The inner portion 125 may be configured to contact the inner surface of the container 110, and the outer portion 126 may be configured to contact the outer surface of the container 110, when the protection sleeve 120 is mounted to the container 110. In some embodiments, the inner portion 125 may appear hooked onto the top edge of the container 110. The side portion 122, bottom portion 123, and the outer portion 126 of the top portion 121 may wrap around the outer surface of the container 110 (including a body and a base of the container 110). The top portion 121 including the outer portion 126 and the inner portion 125 may wrap around the top rim (not labelled in FIGS. 1 and 2 ) of the container 110. The inner portion 125 may rest on (and be in contact with) the inner surface of the container 110. As shown in FIG. 2 , the top portion 121 including the inner portion 125 and the outer portion 126 may cover the entire top rim (or edge), as well as a portion of the inner surface and a portion of the outer surface of the container 110. The inner portion 125 and the outer portion 126 may integrally form the continuous top portion 121. The top portion 121 may have a V-shaped ring structure, with the inner portion 125 bent inwardly from the outer portion 126. In some embodiments, substantially the entire inner portion 125 may be in contact with the inner surface of the container 110.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2 , the protection sleeve 120 may include a hole 144 or more than one hole at the center of the bottom portion. The hole(s) may enable the protection sleeve 120 to stretch when pulled by the user. In some embodiments, the center of the bottom portion 123 of the protection sleeve 120 may be a continuous, solid piece, without any holes. In some embodiments, the side portion 122 may include one or more holes, and the bottom portion 123 may not include any hole. For illustrative purposes, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is illustrated as including a hole at the center of the bottom portion 123.

As shown in FIG. 2 , a user may place the bottom or base of the container 110 onto the center portion of the flexible protection sleeve 120, and then pull the top portion 121 upwardly to stretch the flexible protection sleeve 120 until the inner portion 125 wraps over the top rim of the container 110 and rests on the inner surface of the container 110. That is, the top rim of the container 110 may be inserted into the space formed between the inner portion 125 and the outer portion 126 of the top portion 121. When mounted, the flexible protection sleeve 120 wraps around the body of the container 110, with the inner portion 125 covering a small portion of the inner surface of the container 110. When the flexible protection sleeve 120 is mounted to the container 110, due to the stretch of the flexible protection sleeve 120, an elastic pulling force may exist between the side portion 122, the bottom portion 123, and the top portion 121. Thus, with the inner portion 125 bent over the top rim and being in contact with the inner surface of the container 110, the flexible protection sleeve 120 may be securely mounted to the container 110. The flexible protection sleeve 120 may be detached from the container 110 when the top portion 121 is pulled away from the top rim, and the inner portion 125 is removed from the inner surface of the container 110. When detached, the flexible protection sleeve 120 may be washed, cleaned, or otherwise disposed of. The disclosed protection sleeve 120 may be reusable after being cleaned or washed, or may be a single-use disposable item.

The flexible protection sleeve 120 may be made of any suitable flexible materials, such as silicone, rubber, etc. In some embodiments, the entire flexible protection sleeve 120, including the top portion 121, the side portion 122, and the bottom portion 123, is made of food grade silicone. The silicone may be transparent or translucent. The silicone may provide a cushion to protect the container 110 when the container 110 is dropped to a floor, collides with a wall, a kitchen counter, or furniture, or knocked against another container. In addition, the silicone may provide heat insulation, protecting the surface of the table on which the container 110 containing hot food or liquid is placed.

In some embodiments, to further increase the grasping force of the inner portion 125 against the top rim and the inner surface of the container 110, an insert 130 may be embedded inside the top portion 121, as shown in FIG. 3 . The insert 130 may be a bent structure with a first part embedded within the outer portion 126 of the top portion 121, and a second part embedded within the inner portion 125 of the top portion 121. FIG. 3 also shows an enlarged view of the insert 130 (without showing the top portion 121 in which the insert 130 is embedded). The first part embedded within the outer portion 126 of the top portion 121 is labelled as 130 a, and the second part embedded within the inner portion 125 of the top portion 121 is labelled as 130 b. The length (or width) w of the inner portion 125 of the top portion 121 that is in contact with the interior surface of the container 110 may be no more than ⅕ (or ⅓, ¼, or any other suitable value) of the depth d of the interior surface of the container 110. The depth d of the interior surface of the container 110 refers to the distance from the top rim of the container 110 to the intersection between the side portion of the interior surface and the bottom of the interior surface. In some embodiments, the insert 130 may include a plurality of discrete segments (e.g., 2 segments, or 4 segments) disposed along the circumference of the top portion 121. As shown in FIG. 3 , the cross section of the insert 130 may have a V shape (or reversed V shape). In some embodiments, the insert 130 may be a continuous ring-shaped or circular structure with the cross section being the V shape shown in FIG. 3 . The insert 130 may be made of a material that is less resilient than the material of the top portion 121 (e.g., silicone). For example, the insert 130 may be made of a plastic, a rubber, a metal, etc. The harder material of the insert 130 may increase the grasping force of inner portion 125 against the top rim and the inner surface of the container 110, thereby avoiding accidental outward slipping of the inner portion 125 from the top rim and the inner surface. With the insert 130, the flexible protection sleeve 120 may be more securely mounted to the container 110.

In some embodiments, to further increase the grasping force of the inner portion 125 on the inner surface of the container 110, the inner portion 125 may include one or more suction cavities (or depressed portions). FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an inner surface 127 of the inner portion 125 that may be in contact with the inner surface of the container 110. One or more suction cavities 129 may be provided on the inner surface 127 of the inner portion 125. For example, the suction cavity 129 may be formed by carving out an amount of material from the inner portion 125, thereby forming a concaved suction cavity. When the inner portion 125 is in contact with the inner surface of the container 110, the user may press the inner portion 125 against the inner surface of the container 110. Thus, when the suction cavity 129 is pressed down toward the inner surface of the container 110, a suction force may be generated by the suction cavity 129, which may enable the inner portion 125 to grasp the inner surface of the container 110 more securely. The inner portion 125 may include any suitable number of suction cavities 129, such as one, two, three, four, etc. For example, four suction cavities 129 may be formed at four places along the top portion 121, with neighboring suction cavities 129 being separated from one another by 90°. Although not shown, it is understood that the suction cavities 129 and the insert 130 may be combined in a same embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the container 110 mounted with the flexible protection sleeve 120. In this embodiment, the protection sleeve 120 may include a suction base 140 integrally formed with the bottom portion 123 of the flexible protection sleeve 120. The suction base 140 may be made of the same material as the bottom portion 123, the side portion 122, and the top portion 121 of the flexible protection sleeve 120. For example, the suction base 140 may be made of silicone. The suction base 140 may provide a suction force when the container 110 is placed on a table surface. Although not shown in FIG. 5 , the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 may also include the insert 130 shown in FIG. 3 and/or the suction cavities 129 at the top portion 121.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are schematic illustrations of containers having various shapes and/or sizes mounted with a flexible protection sleeve, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The containers 110 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 may be bowls, plates, cups, etc. The flexible protection sleeve 120 may be made into different sizes and/or shapes, such that the flexible protection sleeve 120 may fit onto containers of different sizes and/or shapes. In some embodiment, a single size and a single shape for the protection sleeve 120 may fit containers of various sizes and/or shapes due to the resilience of the material of the protection sleeve 120.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a top view of the container 110 mounted with the flexible protection sleeve 120, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8 , the flexible protection sleeve 120 wraps around the top rim of the container 110 and covers the entire top rim, including a small portion of the inner surface of the container 110. When the container 110 has a circular opening or rim, the top portion 121 of the flexible protection sleeve 120 may have a circular shape. When the container 110 has other shapes, the flexible protection sleeve 120 may be made with other shapes to match the shape of the container 110.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a perspective view of the container 110 mounted with the flexible protection sleeve 120, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The flexible protection sleeve 120 may include a plurality of reinforcing ribs 151 on the side portion of the flexible protection sleeve 120. In some embodiments, each reinforcing rib 151 may extend between the bottom portion and the top portion of the flexible protection sleeve 120. In some embodiments, each reinforcing rib 151 may extend from a center portion at a bottom of the flexible protection sleeve 120 to an upper edge of the top portion of the flexible protection sleeve 120. The center portion at the bottom of the flexible protection sleeve 120 may include a center hole or may not include a hole (i.e., may be solid continuous piece). In some embodiments, each reinforcing rib 151 may be a thicker line or ridge made of the same material as the rest of the flexible protection sleeve 120, such as silicone. The thicker lines or ridges may be protrusions at the exterior surface of the flexible protection sleeve 120, and may include the same material (e.g., silicone) as the rest of the flexible protection sleeve 120. Thus, the exterior surface of the flexible protection sleeve 120 may have a corrugated shape. In some embodiments, inside each thicker line or ridge, there may be a reinforcing element made of a material less flexible than the material of the rest of the flexible protection sleeve 120. For example, when the flexible protection sleeve 120 is primarily made of silicone, the reinforcing element may be made of a flexible metal, plastic, etc. The reinforcing element may be embedded in the thicker line or ridge that protrudes from the exterior surface of the flexible protection sleeve 120. In some embodiments, the reinforcing element may be made of a flexible metal and the thicker line or ridge may be made of silicone (same material as the rest of the flexible protection sleeve 120). In some embodiments, each reinforcing rib 151 may not protrude from the exterior surface of the flexible protection sleeve 120. Each reinforcing rib 151 may be embedded within the rest of the flexible protection sleeve 120, and the exterior surface of the flexible protection sleeve 120 may be smooth. Each reinforcing rib 151 may be made of a material (e.g., flexible metal) that is less flexible than the material (e.g., silicone) of the rest of the flexible protection sleeve 120. The reinforcing ribs 151 may provide support to the rest of the flexible protection sleeve 120, and may provide extra protection. It is noted that although not shown in the figures, the reinforcing ribs 151 may be combined with other features shown in other figures, such as the insert 130.

Other embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the embodiments disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as example only and not to limit the scope of the present disclosure, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims. Variations or equivalents derived from the disclosed embodiments also fall within the scope of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A flexible protection sleeve for a container, comprising: a bottom portion, a side portion, and a top portion integrally formed from a same flexible material, wherein the bottom portion and the side portion are configured to wrap around an outer surface of the container, and the top portion is configured to wrap around a top rim of the container, from the outer surface to an inner surface of the container.
 2. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 1, wherein the flexible material is a food-grade silicone.
 3. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 1, wherein the top portion includes an insert embedded therein that is made of a material different from the flexible material.
 4. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 3, wherein the insert includes a plurality of discrete segments embedded inside the top portion at a plurality of places.
 5. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 3, wherein the insert includes a continuous structure embedded inside the top portion.
 6. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 3, wherein the insert includes a bent structure having a first portion embedded in an inner portion of the top portion, and a second portion embedded in an outer portion of the top portion.
 7. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 1, further comprising a suction base integrally formed with the bottom portion from the same flexible material.
 8. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 1, wherein an inner portion of the top portion includes a surface that is in contact with the inner surface of the container, and the surface includes one or more suction cavities.
 9. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 1, wherein the top portion includes an outer portion configured to contact the outer surface of the container, and an inner portion configured to contact the inner surface of the container.
 10. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 1, wherein the side portion comprises a plurality of reinforcing ribs extending between the bottom portion and the top portion.
 11. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 10, wherein each reinforcing rib is a protrusion on an exterior surface of the side portion.
 12. The flexible protection sleeve of claim 10, wherein each reinforcing rib includes a reinforcing element embedded in the side portion. 